The reason a super-group comic book like The Avengers is so much fun is because its members spend as much time clashing into each other as they do the foes they fought every month. Someone asked me recently to compare director and co-writer Joss Whedon's THE AVENGERS with the X-MEN movies, and the reality is, you can't--not fairly at least. The members of the X-Men came together under a common struggle (mutant rights), and are all trained by the same methods as each other (for the most part). But the Avengers are like puzzle pieces that were never meant to go together, and with the exception of Captain America (Chris Evans), they don't even really see themselves as heroes, let alone ones fighting a common enemy.

The story of THE AVENGERS gives these solo acts that unifying enemy: an alien army brought to earth by Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) adopted brother Loki (the magnificent Tom Hiddleston, easily my favorite performer in the film). But before Whedon even gets to that point, he gives us micro-stories about where the lead characters sit in the grand scheme of their own lives.

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is fiddling around with turning the renewable energy source that powers his heart and suit into an actual, real-world source of green energy (that damn tree-hugger), which is a coincidence since the Cosmic Cube that played a role in both the THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA movies last summer is also a source of renewable energy. But Stark is the character that has the most growing up to do, and being a part of this team forces him to "play well with others." It's actually kind of great watching Downey give Stark a mature edge, even as he's crack jokes at the expense of the other Avengers.

Steve Rogers/Captain America is still very much struggling to be less of a man out of time. He's missing references in everyday conversation and jokes, making both tough for him. There's a cute moment when someone makes a "flying monkeys" reference he actually gets, and the excitement in his eyes is wondrous. It's not until the fighting starts that Rogers finally shows signs that he's in his element, and he comes to life magnificently, flinging his shield with a force only hinted at in his movie.

Thor just kind of exists in THE AVENGERS, and I don't mean that in a bad way. He appears out of nowhere, searching for his still-loved brother, and it's clear that he feel somewhat responsible for Loki's turn to the side of mischief and destruction. What Thor brings to this movie (aside from a whole lot of lightening, thunder, and brutal hammer action) is the emotional weight. As much fun as it is to watch Loki have so much fun manipulating everyone that crosses his line of sight, Thor's love for his wayward sibling makes Loki a tragic character in so many necessary ways.

Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) doesn't get to enter the picture until the threat is eminent. He's in hiding, living a mostly quiet life in India in an effort to keep the Hulk at bay. Although he's brought into the fold for his brains and not his braun (apparently the cube is emitting gamma rays, which Banner is an expert in), everyone wants to know how he keeps "the other guy" under control. When he finally reveals his secret to not getting angry, my stomach actually dropped. The actual Hulk doesn't appear in the film until nearly the 1.5-hour mark (of the 2.5-hour film), so clearly Whedon believes Banner is nearly as (if not more) important than the green behemoth, and Ruffalo is so strong in the role, I don't think too many people will be crying about Edward Norton's absence--although he would have been awesome too, I'm sure.

The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are cut from the same cloth: both are SHIELD agents (under the command of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury), master assassins by training, with painful pasts that are only hinted at in THE AVENGERS. I'm guessing deeper looks into their respective pasts are being held back in case the characters get solo films, which they should. Hawkeye is given an interesting introduction in this story as his mind is taken over by Loki right off the bat, and he spends a significant portion of the film as a mindless slave. Black Widow actually grew on me as a character, whereas she really didn't work for me as a part of IRON MAN 2. Her martial arts skills are insane, brutal, and efficient. And her chase scene through the SHIELD Helicarrier with the Hulk barreling down behind her is fantastic stuff, which proves something I've always suspected--if you aren't strong enough to fight the Hulk, the best defense is make yourself very small and skillfully run and hide from the big bastard.

If I had to clock the screentime of each character in THE AVENGERS, I wouldn't be surprised if Loki had the most. And if that isn't true, it sure feels that way, and I am perfectly alright with that. I spent a good deal of 2011 discovering Tom Hiddleston through THOR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, and WAR HORSE (and if you haven't seen him in THE DEEP BLUE SEA, which came out in the U.S. this year, you really have only experienced a portion of the awful person he's capable of portraying.

But Loki's smile is pure devil, his mind is that of a master manipulator, and he somehow doesn't look ridiculous with a giant horned helmet on his head. With a whole lot of competition, Loki is my favorite character in THE AVENGERS because he's the best written, pure and simple. He plays each team member differently, using their personal shortcomings against them. It's not impossible to play Loki the way he plays with victims, but it ain't easy. And it's actually kind of cool who has the most success handing him his ass when it comes to outsmarting him brain vs. brain.

Yes, members of the Avengers get to fight each other before they take on the alien army, but those moments are almost obligatory, although no less fun. If I had one major complaint about THE AVENGERS, it would be about that army. The aliens look and drop dead like videogame villains that can never seem to hit their mark and go down like they're made of construction paper. The idea of one of those nondescript creatures taking down a member of the team doesn't seem feasible, let alone possible, so they really don't add much dramatic weight to the enormous climactic battle. But even that doesn't reduce the effectiveness of the mega-destructive final 45 minutes or so, which really give the Hulk a chance to spread his arms and use them to knock down aliens, buildings, and certain Aasgardians.

I love that Whedon gets to spend 2012 in the mainstream spotlight, between THE AVENGERS and the long-delayed THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (which he produced and co-wrote), both of which are presently in my top-five favorite films of the year so far. I was never a die-hard Whedonite, although I've sampled some of his TV work over the years and am very much looking forward to what he does with the already-shot MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. It never even crossed my mind that he'd get THE AVENGERS wrong, but I never would have predicted just how perfectly he pulls this off.

This isn't just a triumph in the arena of Marvel movies or superhero films; more accurately, this is one of the most entertaining films I've seen at this scale. It's succeeds with action, humor, intelligence, a touch of psychological drama, and phenomenal special effects. And by embracing the flaws in each of its characters, THE AVENGERS is more than just an impressive movie; it's also an easy film to love. That's doesn't happen nearly enough in films with nine-figure budgets. The summer is looking a whole lot brighter; we'll see how long that feeling lasts.

I'd love to know what you guys think of THE AVENGERS. Feel free to post your comments, reviews, observances, criticisms, shitting upons, etc. in the Talkbacks.

not to get nitpicky nor anything, really, but the movie runs about 2 hrs. 17 mins. for what I remember, not really the 2:30 runtime that's been so often reported (unless... they sent some seriously chopped down version for us down here, south of the border). In any case, really, the movie rocks big time. First time in a really long time that I've gone back to the theater for a second helping- and I plan on seeing it at least two more times. I envy all of you over there who are about to watch it for the first time. I want the Blu now!

...wow. I was born in the 60s and grew up reading silver and golden-age Marvel books. The Avengers was one of my top four (with Fantastic Four, Captain America and Spider-Man rounding out the group), and to say this movie is a gift to those of us who STILL have our silver and golden-age Marvel books is an understatement.
Thanks to everyone involved in making this great, great movie.

With the audience laughing out loud many times, it is not easy to catch every word the characters say onscreen, which is why it is best to watch it more than once to truly appreciate that Whedon script.

Critics over at rottentomatoes who dislike the film say:
1. They are tired of the genre;
2. The movie is too talky for a film that is ridiculous in the first place;
3. It is not the Dark Knight.
I say that they are truly out of touch with the comic book world and could not accept matters which do not fit their sense of reality.

..Watching it i realised i hadn't seen super-violence like this since the supes v zod smackdown. Thats whats been missing in all these movies..a tangable threat, that our hero might just get kicked to fuck.
SPOILER**
I thought iron man was dead. I thought the film came alive when cap fell out the craft, an when hulk hulked out..........that was comics put on film.
puny god...
this has dampened my tdkr enthusiasm,...does it have to be so po faced nolan? does it?

OK, so there's three goat herders sitting atop a hill: the father, his elder son, and his younger son. A large posse of goats shuffles about in the meadow below them.
The younger son says "Dammit, I am horny as a mufuh!", pulls out his dick, and starts wankin' it.
The elder son looks at his brother with disgust, then turns to the father and says "Hey, pops... let's run down there, and fuck one o'them goats!".
And the father turns to him and replies "No, son... let's WALK down, and fuck 'em all".
My point being this: you fools think just because you had to wade through all the superhero origin movies, and because it's taken THIS long to finally reach the point where an Avengers movie becomes a reality... you fools think that now you'll each be the lead herder at a goat gangbang.
WRONG. Stop deluding yourselves. You might get to fuck 1 or 2 goats, tops. You can thank me later for this bit of wisdom.

I had the same feeling re tdkr!
I've no doubt tdkr will be good and all that but the sheer JOY in The Avengers, as you so rightly said...
'why so po faced?'
YES I know they are different films blah blah blah but frankly they are BOTH superhero movies were in one, the superhero looks like he's going to be spending a lot of time in a hole in the floor and in the other THERE ARE SUPERHEROES DOING SUPERHERO SHIT.
enough with the 'grim' 'gritty' and above all 'realistic'.

Looks like a fun indie superhero movie. And for those who hate quicktime as much as I do...
http://youtu.be/Hy1fZ6Y6xWg
Youtube link to trailer.
Looks pretty fun, really.
AND.... I cannot WAIT to see Avengers again tomorrow... IN 3D!!! (it's not bad for a conversion, people... not bad at all)

I've said that on another on other talkback and people laughed. But the truth is that I don't think people have a good understanding what The Avengers really means.
The Avengers is already a blockbuster monster. It's a movie that's really easy to love like Capone said. It's a blockbuster with a heart and a soul. And it's a blockbuster that is the culmination to everything the Marvel movies were building so far. More, it's a movie set in a shared universe, a Marvel movieverse.
George Lucas told with the original trilogy a finite saga. Star Wars was the first blockbuster, the first movieverse. With The Avengers, Marvel had a vision: create their own movieverse, where all these characters could inhabit and interact with each. Whedon was hired for the job, but that was a job that without him clearly wouldn't turn out the way it did.
Comparing The Avengers with the recent blockbusters isn't fair because regardless the fact it is indeed the vision of a company, it's done with heart and wit resulting an insane cinematic experience. What Marvel did with the direction of Whedon is create the bond that seals the idea of these characters co-existing in the same movieverse, and while that was already a fact in the comics, it was never done in film.
The possibilities are now endless. Marvel with the pass of the years and introducing more characters could very well create their own first saga, like a movie called Secret Wars for example. Marvel has created genre movies that mixed sci-fi, adventure, fantasy and espionage, what if they go even further? Create a road movie, a thriller, a suspense, horror... dare I say their own romantic comedy or even a drama? All set in their own Marvel movieverse. All drinking of the same source of this shared universe. Will they go this way? Will they dream this big? Will they succeed if they do try? I don't know. But If there's one thing that The Avengers proves is that nothing is impossible.
This movie sets the bar unbelievably high not only for Marvel or movies based on comics, it sets the bar high for all the blockbusters movies that will come after that. That's why I believe that The Avengers is the ultimate blockbuster movie and the natural heir of Star Wars.
If Marvel is ambitious enough, this is the beginning of something far greater. After they've pulled off to make The Avengers and all the know how they have from all the years making a cohesive shared universe in their own comics, I think they have a shot.
And I'm talking just about Marvel so far. Imagine if other studios start to successfully use the concept. And still there's people out there thinking The Avengers isn't a game changer...

A real man wouldn't work there; only a man out to make a quick buck who cares little for the environment around him. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner shake their heads at you in shame, dilbynuggets. (...oh, for those of you who don't know, dilbynuggets are the little pieces of shit that stick to your ass hairs)... Also, the only women to fuck up their are prostitutes. Guess you gotta spend that dirty oil money somewhere.

Your assertion is ridiculous to the point of absurdity. Star Wars movies are exactly that: STAR WARS movies. It's a genre unto itself. The first SW movie launched a pop culture phenomenon that spanned 28 years, and still lingers 7 years after the final(?)movie. The SW movies, aside from being huge moneymakers, also blew the lid off merchandising revenue, which up until then was a non-factor.
THAT was a "gamechanger"... not The Avengers. Will it have a huge opening weekend? Of course it will. Will there be a sequel? Count on it. Will it get knocked off the #1 perch by Battleship in two weeks? Damn skippy it will. Why? Because the average American moviegoer has the attention span of a 6-year old kid with ADHD. Because they do not respond en masse to quality movies (unless it's a Chris Nolan joint, but that goes without saying).
No, they'll flock to Battleship, and then Spiderman, and then TDKR, and fuckall who knows what else as the summer progresses. It's not as though they'll stubbornly cling to their Avengers guns and forsake all else. There goes your gamechanger [wave goodbye].

a few have nitpicks, only the usual handful of trolls are spewing the hate.
And this time their failure is so blatant that I actually enjoy reading their pathetic attempts to put a mark on what will almost certainly be the biggest box office and best reviewed movie of 2012.
Nice try trolls, all 11 or 12 of you - but you've lost.
Now just keep taking the pounding from both ends like good little bitches.

So there judgment is impaired because of the idea of seeing all these heros in one film interacting with each other.
But being objective i am sure they know the story is nothing that a special-needs person couldn't write.

But then Hulk comes along. Seriously, the friend I was with fell asleep in the first hour and I was also bored senseless. But then Hulk does his stuff and it gets better.
3* review from me.
SPOILER*******
Can anyone explain why hulk goes ape and try's to kill black widow then an hour later is everyone's best green buddy?

I see what jack sparrow is saying. No, the Avengers isn't any kind of cinematic revolution, or necessarily a great film. But it is a good film, it was a big idea executed very very well.
What makes it a game changer is that, for better or worse, it expands the idea of a franchise. With the Avengers, Marvel has solidified this idea that you can make disparate films tangentially related while maintaining the brand recognition of a larger franchise. You can even have a dud of a film without killing the franchise (something that might actually allow the film's to be a bit more adventurous, since less is riding on them studios might be a bit less restrictive), since the one film's success doesn't necessarily tie into the next films since they'll be different characters and stories anyways.
So I can definitely see how this may be a game changer in the business model and structure of franchise film-making, we'll have to wait and see if/how other studios follow suit.

*****spoiler*****The reason is because at the time he transforms he's angry at Black Widow because he she's the one who dragged him there in the first place and then he finds out they plan on using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass desustuction. Also, Loki is using the sceptre to make everyone angry, but the Hulk especially as that is his "play" as Black Widow puts it. I thought the first 90 minutes were great! We got an opening action sequence with a bit of car/helicopter chase scene with some big destruction, the scene with Loki and Hawkeye in Germany that gave us some Loki being eveil and Loki vs Captain America and Loki vs Iron Man. Then we get Thor vs Iron Man with a little bit of Captain America thrown in for good measure, and Loki/Black Widow interrogation scene was was incredibly Hannibal Lector/Clarice. I also thought the dialogue between Banner and Stark was very cool. Tons of funny bits like Coulson's interaction with Captain America and Thor were great, too. In case you can't tell, I loved it! But I will admit as much as I enjoyed the first bits of the movie, things get really awesome once they board the helicarrier.*****end spoiler*****

People will take the piss out of you relentlessly, and be right to do so.
Nothing, before or since, equals the cinematic impact of the first Star Wars. Hollywood has been trying to duplicate the experience for the past 30 years and hasn't come close.
Financially, they may have surpassed it, but culturally? Never.
Maybe people who weren't alive when Star Wars hit would like to roll out the "it's the new Star Wars" jargon, because they'd like to feel a part of something. But those of us who were alive know what that experience was like, and how it can never be duplicated.

I wonder when Marvel is going to actually make a good villain. Loki started out cool but turned into some kind of a tv show bitch that EVERY hero in the movie beat up. And the Chitauri did nothing but get killed. Maybe Thanos will pose a real threat. Otherwise, it wasn't bad. Glad to see the Hulk get his due.

Avengers is probably one of the best Super Hero films ever, kinda reminds me of the thrill of watching Superman I or II as a kid.
Star Wars changed the landscape of film and toys!
People were obssesed with any kind of merchandising, as well as the thought of a sequel.
Star Wars became almost a 'religion' of sorts, crazy but true in the late 70's, people could not get enough.
The closest film comparison I can think of is Harry Potter franchise, but it felt like it was 20% of the insanity of that time.

This movie was amazing....it was beyond amazing it's up there with the dark knight amazing (for different reasons of course) my all time favorite movies have been ones that kind of change the way movies are made or have been made to stand out from everything we've seen before (tdk is number 1 sin city was number 2 but that has been easily surpassed) it gives fans of comics and fans of the movies these characters came from everything we couldve possibly wanted and more and then he gives us thanos all we can do is thank joss whedon over and over again THANK YOU SIR THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH

If Jeff Robinov isn't scrambling the troops now, he's simply leaving money on the table.
Only problem is, Warners will fuck it up. Half the reason The Avengers is successful is that there is a good amount of build up and buy in.
Letting Nolan control your big two, which maintaining that they exist in separate universes...well, that pretty much kills the build up.
Sure, there will be a Justice League movie, and it will suck, because DC Entertainment is a puppet organization, and Geoff Johns is no Kevin Feige.

Not often can a movie match or even exceed expectations but The Avengers blew mine away! A must see for all movie fans of all ages... HULK SMASH! Avengers will probably crush the box office this summer.

But so was Avatar, so was Star Wars...and they turned out to be great films.
This could have been a disaster but it was terrific! I enjoyed the hell out of it, going to see it again. No one really got sidelined although Hawkeye could have used a bit more development. Hulk was just....AWESOME and Mark Ruffalo's portrayal standout. His understated performance next to Downey's over the top one was a breath of fresh air.
Go to see this movie to feel like a kid again. Want something not so simplistic - then rent the Godfather.

I loved it. I'm with the guy who said the first 90 minutes of dialogue was great. If I had a critique, it would be that some of the things that seemed like they were supposed to be really impactful(is that a word) sort of came off as "well..ok..that happened"...but this isn't a deep movie...and it shouldn't be. It's fun beginning to end. If that means I have a brain of a ten year old...then I guess I'm ok with that...it's a happy ten year old brain.
One of my favorite scenes is the interrogation between Loki and Black Widow...it's strange to say. It's interesting, informative, and has a great pay-off.
Not a Whedon fan...but it's hard to see how this could have been better when it shouldn't have worked at all. I'm gay for anything Batman and have a hard time disliking anything Nolan does...but the best I can hope for is that he's up to the challenge.
Good times to be nerdy :)

Hell year. One epic clash of the superheroes.
I've seen it here in germany and we we're blown away by the acting, dialogues, angles, locations and last bot not least the action with those epic specialeffects .
One new scale for superhero movies.
Spoilers:
Proud they had Cap. America and Iron man to be in Stuttgart /Germany and i enjoyed the detailed smashing of the heroes. You could literally feel it in the seat. hulk? Smash!
I'm so thrilled for the 2.nd Avengers against Thanos.

Fucking A Man. Puny God indeed, fucking Hulk rules. First movie im going to go see multiple times since Return of the King. All the reviews ive read and all the bitches people had im just not seeing. That movie fucking rocked. Fucking Hulk man. Hulk Fucking Smash, nuff said.

fucking blow pigs trolls hahahahahaha you guys are fucking assclowns go crawl back in your hole you mindless fucking tools. Avengers fucking rocked the house. but i guess packed theaters full of happy people having a good time and a 94% fresh rating on rotten tomatoes means everyone is stupid except the 13 haters on this website and a handful of trolling critics lol. Suck it losers.

Otherwise, pretty good movie. The alien bad guys were stupid, but Loki is good. They could have found a better way to use him though. Lot's of humor throughout, and a movie like this needs that. I give it a solid 7/10.
Maybe 7.5.

I'm no comic book nerd, i just love movies, so seeing the avengers was a little less of a religous experience than some of the other talkbackers. It was fun but i think this blind love of the movie even before its seen is down to the huge ad campaign and clever marketing aimed at the geeks. This is the 6th marvel movie in this 'avengers' theme. Iron Man 1 is still the best in my opinion but the avengers is 2nd. The other movies were pretty dull and i have trouble recalling anything interesting from them.
Six movies into a franchise with only two movies rating 'good' isn't a cool batting average. I think the avengers is viewed as a success because it's not as bad as the others, not because it's better than the rest.
Biggest sheer of the night?
The Dark Knight Rises trailer.....Go figure..
BTW just watched the new Spider Man trailer, sorry avengers but Spider Man's the main man!

i saw star wars when i was 8 years old and ive loved it ever since. i saw empire 26 times at the drive-in the summer it came out just to outdo my cousin. There wasn't anything like it. What i don't get is why some of you act as if the shit is too good to even be compared to other movies. what marvel did, in the face of all cinema has accomplished up to this point is flat out historic. it is indeed a game changer and worthy of praise. Avengers Rocked fuckin hard, had a minor issue or two and tread new ground so for those of you acting as if you cant see how others can appreciate it just cause you can't, well fuck you. Same goes for all of you who think star wars is so unassailable. Man, FUCK Star Wars. i own the DVD's too, but all the stupid changes for blu-ray and re-releases, and that god-awful prequel trilogy shows star wars (Lucas) isn't even loyal to itself and doesn't give a fuck about the fans. 2 good movies (out of 6) and a bunch of fuckin toys sold don't mean it's perfect. and if a new star wars came out this summer, Avengers would've kicked it's ass the Same way Spidey did those bitch-ass prequels.
Excelsior, fuckers!

Absolutely amazing amount of kick-assery in this bitch!! It takes a little time to get the ball rolling, but once it does......it just doesn't stop for shit!! Everybody gets a chance to chew up the scenery in this movie, and the comedic notes are just awesome little almost throwaway scenes (Thor saying Loki is adopted, Captain America and the cops, Hulk backhanding Thor, Iron Man's human centipede). All this and chances to linger on Colbie and Scarjo's awesome dueling ass shots. If you want me to bag on something, RDJ seems to be channeling Spider-Man's sarcastic humor whenever he don's the Iron suit, his humor out of it is almost always condescending to everyone else.......it's a weird almost multiple personality thing that I'm hoping they explore in the inevitable Iron Man 3.
Joss.......please release the deleted scenes on YouTube asap so I can kick back with some Shawarma and enjoy the film some more!!
9.75 out of 10

Loved the movie but 2 odd things took me out of it. Why does Tony Stark's ARC Reactor show through his shirt some of the time and then go away other than to serve as a plot point? Why is the Helicarrier populated with Vietnam era jets? They use the huge tech jets but look at the planes on the deck. I think they are A4s.

Loved the movie but 2 odd things took me out of it. Why does Tony Stark's ARC Reactor show through his shirt some of the time and then go away other than to serve as a plot point? Why is the Helicarrier populated with Vietnam era jets? They use the huge tech jets but look at the planes on the deck. I think they are A4s.

At a 7 PM screener and a midnight IMAX show. The crowds in both went insane for this movie! Much more so than at the preview I attended last week. In neither of Thursday's viewings was anyone in the theaters able to hear Hulk's only line, as there was too much laughter, gasps, claps, and guffawing over his "meeting" with Loki. I'm betting a huge number of those attendees will be back, multiple times. You just don't get this much fun at the movies very often. I'll see it a few more times myself. And, yeah, it was worth the extra $$$ to see it in IMAX.

Count me as one of the people who thought this movie was bad. I thought the pace was pretty slow, the atmosphere was overly unrealistic for a comic movie, the characters were cheesy, the dialog was sort of snappy and the soundtrack unispiring.
I'm looking forward to TDKR and Spider-man to bring my attitude back around. I prefer films with more substance and I know TDKR will deliver that (and I'm hoping Spider-man will as well).

Jesus H. Christ...
Is it a fun, popcorn movie? Sure!
Does the plot make much sense? Nah, sorry. (I'm aware it's fantasy, but even at that...) Some great one liners, and some awful expository dialogue. Some great fights, and some others that look great but are pointless, really.
Ruffalo's Banner and the CG Hulk were suprising, but it's just coming across to me that if there are enough explosions and eye candy on screen, audiences will lap it up, even if the back bone is mediocre.
My prediction? This will not age well.

...some painfully clunky dialogue at the end, watch when Gordon is banging on about what BatMan must do, it's toe-curlingly poor.
Just gotta take the positives and filter out the trash, there's much to praise about Avengers despite it's short-comings

... and you're absolutely right about that scene in TDK.
But read some of the other posts here - the *best movie evar!* type posts - and I really just don't get where they are coming from?
They admit to the plot shortcomings, the clunky exposition, the contradictory elements, and yet still, it's the best superhero movie to date?
Really? I thought First Class was better, personally. Not the best ever, mind, but better than the Avengers.

No man, fuck you.
Is Avengers a game changer? Sure. No one's ever made a movie comprised of superhero's from individual films.
Is Star Wars a perfect film? No. And nobody's saying it is, if you'd take the time to read the fucking post.
What we're talking about is the phenomenon the release of the first Star Wars caused, not the film itself. Which has yet to be duplicated.
I doubt you're going to see The Avengers 26 times.
Get your head out of your ass.

...unfortunately there were 2 twenty
something 'Mewling Quim' sitting next to me
that WOULD NOT shut the fuck up. Asked
them nicely...and after 30 more minutes, not
so nicely to close their skulls.
To be fair, there were a lot of great fan girls
at the midnight screening, having a great time
w/o damaging the experience for others.
Loved the character work with Steve, Tony,
Thor and surprisingly scarjo and ruffalo
(neither of which I believed could make me
care).
Still think everything they did would only
have been heightened by Blunt and Norton...
but they got the job done.
Sadly, Sam L's 'performance' felt too much like
flat line reads. Wish he had invested in the
'character' of Fury more (layers Sam, please).
Loved the way things escalated from conflict
to conflict, and when the city battle kicks in...
it felt at times like moving comic panels in
a wonderful way! I can't wait to view that
tracking sequence through the battle on slo-mo
at home...amazing!
...and the 'after-after' credits scene
(given all previous events) was a great bit of
comic book catharsis for me. Laughed my ass off
at how earned that moment was!
Will see it at least 2 more times in the theater,
loved it that much.
What a time we live in.

You know, the special 3D glasses. One is styled after Captain America, another one after Iron Man, Hulk and Thor. How do you get those? I won't see the film until Saturday and I was just wondering if I needed to see it at a particular theater or are the glasses not being distributed after all?

Summary - A tepid exercise in fan boy kowtowing and tragically average action wrapped up with overly derivative directing.
The common joke is this (minus Tony Stark's scenes) - Set up.......wait for it.......wait for it.....(sometimes punching and or kicking)....wait for it......Punchline........Complete with people laughing before the punchline because it was dragged out too long
Josh Whedon has not an ounce of original thought in his head on how to shoot an action scene, so he just takes big chunks of all the action movies that he has watched and mashes them up. It's like a bad case of deja vu
I did enjoy the Loki vs. Hulk scene, which provided one of the handful of genuine laughs.

Star Wars came out in simpler times. Avengers pulling this off in these times of corporate greed and jaded fan cynicism is pretty big, i think. We don't go to the movies like that anymore nor do movies stay in the theaters that long. like i said, I enjoy Star Wars but people clenching up because someone dared to compare another movie to it is ridiculous. There's this "How dare you ?" attitude like it's a religion or some shit. i'm not sure, but tell me what you think; how would star wars do if it were released today? would the cynical internet trolls bring it down any? How much hate would it garner? would it beat Titanic, Avatar, or Dark Knight?

The midnight release got rave reviews by everyone around me and then some. Normally, I'm reluctant when a movie gets so much hype, especially when the concept sounds so badass(Think Cowboys and Aliens to imagine the letdown I'm anticipating) Still, we have Joss Whedon in here, so I'm hopeful.

Even Paltrow. I could tell she was enjoying herself with the lines she was getting to say.
When did Chris Evans become a good actor? I hated him as Johnny Storm in FF, but he's been great as Cap.
As was said earlier, when the battle is joined, the weight and magnitude of the situation is at the level seen in Superman 1 & 2 back in 1978-1980.
Go see it.
------------------spoilers-------------------
As a fan of Buffy & Angel and Firefly-Serenity, I could see Whedon-isms throughout the film.
The "bickering then the cold stop for a joke or a dramatic reveal", the "exposition of back history, a question from someone else, joke", "Villan monologuing or making a threat then stopped mid-sentence." But that's ok. That's classic Whedon. He has a style, same as Mamet or Sorkin.
Loved the geek-centric cameos and shout outs. US Councilman played by Powers Booth, who has done voicework on the "Animated DC Universe" with Bruce Timm. Geek favorite Jenny Agutter on the council for the UK (especially since she was on the show "MI-5" aka "Spooks.") Lou Ferrigno as Hulk voice. There is even a file numbered A113. Hello PIXAR.
Just great fun. Go see it.-----later-----m

Perhaps you were...but I would guess NOT because there is NO FREAKING WAY to compare the Avengers to the impact Star Wars had on EVERYTHING! Not even close. <p>
Star Wars came out of nowhere. No one saw it coming. NO ONE!<p>
It changed pop-culture. <p>
It entrenched iconic, mythical figures deep into American consciousness...the whole world for that matter. <p>
It broadened the scope of everyone's imagination overnight. <p>
It dramatically altered the course of the whole freaking industry. <p>
The shock wave of Star Wars can still be felt today. <p>
Decades after the movies probably anyone you come across could hum the main theme from the score.<p>
I haven't even seen Avengers yet but don't make me laugh with that hyperbolic bullshit. Avengers is gonna rock I have no doubt. But don't even put it up there with Titanic or The Matrix...even those films have more of a "game changer" status not to mention an enduring ..cultural foot hold in peoples minds

""How dare you ?" attitude like it's a religion or some shit. <p>
Hardly. It's just objective fact. It's hard to know what that felt like unless you were there. It's like when I see a doc on Gone With The Wind and how people were absolutely crazy-blown away by that movie. I can kind of get my mind around it...but I'm mostly like..."yeah, great movie...sure. But wtf?"<p>
Or like when I was a kid everyone raved about how Jimi Hendrix was the greatest guitarist ever! I was raised on Eddie Van Halen and was like "what's the bfd?" <p>
Context is everything.

And it had both, IMO.
The Good...
1. Awesome flash backs and intro for Cap.
2. Scale, scope, acting and costumes. - Perfect throughout.
3. The Hulk both Ruffalo and CGI.
4. The battle shot fly-over (towards the end).
The Bad...
1. Galaga. Really? Gallaga? Bad tag to that scene. Indeed it was amature in its rediculosness.
2. Iron man. He is seemingly impervious to centrifugal forces? Uses scuba equipment breather under water but not in space and the wormhole? An imature use of sound fx and direction.
3. Cap on the Heli-Carrier all jumping around and shutting down the helicarriers breakers?! The whole Heli-carrier sequence seemed unnescessary and the Sheild HQ might better have remained as an underground base.
4. Oh yeah, Hated the destruction sequence and chase after Loki at the start. Seemed like it would never end, but hey they had to show it so we could belive Fury was doing his job.
5. Worst for me was ScarJo doing what Cap should have done at the end. Really? Black Widow jumping up onto a flying platform racing at like 80mph and then taking out its two occupants, steering the pilot with two daggers, and then saying she needs Hawkeye's help?!!! Really? She like turned into Spiderman through that scene.
Other than some other iffy moments it was overall very well made, and entertaining.
I just don't understand why some stupid parts ALWAYS have to be featured in today's mega-movies.

The reason people get upset when people compare a movie to Star Wars is that your not comparing it to a movie to movie, you're comparing a movie to an experience.
And that show's your "How would Star Wars do if it was released today?" argument doesn't work, for the very reason you stated: 1977 was a much simpler time.
No one had ever seen a fantasy film like Star Wars before up until that point. The closest attempts were Forbidden Planet and 2001.
Star Wars was so far ahead of it's time, it took decades for Hollywood to catch up to it.
Now, we're inundated with effects films. Would Star Wars garner the same reaction if it was released today? Absolutely not. We've been desensitized.
Which is why The Avengers, which is a game changer in its own right, is not on the same level of accomplishment that Star Wars was.
Instead of comparing The Avengers experience to the Star Wars experience, fanboys need to just lay off and be proud they have an Avengers experience to celebrate in their lifetimes.

Great site, lots of interesting comments about this film. I saw this again last night for the 5th time with my nephew. I pointed out to him the message of the film with Loki...Loki's an annyoying snob with his fancy british accent but when millionaires get together with the government and the military we can crush him and his filthy liberal associates from the 4th dimension. A truly moving and timely message for us all. I hope you all keep this in mind next November.
The Mittster

I have never been so entertained in my life at a movie. Honestly... I have the same feelings I have after having seen Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time. I want to see this over and over and over again. Before there was Star Wars and Raiders for me, there was Com ics, Marvel Comics... The Avengers, Spider-man... Cap... This was the movie I've been waiting for. The films building up to this have been good (Cap being the best IMHO) but this... THIS was something that DC/Warner Brothers have been SWEARING could never work hence why NO connecting continuity in their films OR why they keep avoiding a JL film.
THIS MUST CHANGE THEIR MINDS!!! ADD SOMETHING TO THE END OF "MAN OF STEEL", YOU PUSSIES!!! GET IT DONE!!!
You said this best, Capone: "This isn't just a triumph in the arena of Marvel movies or superhero films; more accurately, this is one of the most entertaining films I've seen at this scale. It's succeeds with action, humor, intelligence, a touch of psychological drama, and phenomenal special effects. And by embracing the flaws in each of its characters, THE AVENGERS is more than just an impressive movie; it's also an easy film to love. That's doesn't happen nearly enough in films with nine-figure budgets. The summer is looking a whole lot brighter; we'll see how long that feeling lasts."
I agree... this was the impossible made possible. Joss Whedon not only proved how good he can be, but probably shut up a LOT of folks on this site.

The Captain was out of place, out of time, and disrespected as an elder, but he manned up and ended up giving orders to the rest of the team that eventually saved the world. As someone who loves and supports the military, I give a nod to Whedon for not "liberalizing" Rogers' old fashion ways, but instead, putting his morale at the top of the list. Captain America was, in my opinion, more fleshed out than Loki. Good job, Joss, for supporting the last bastion of the American people's dream and purpose, while disowning the government that runs our country.

It's the true voice of these characters. Nothing they do in this movie isn't motivated by a fundamentally solid core of characterization. And throwing them all together was clearly delicately maintained but paid dividends when their personal issues and pettiness played out against a greater evil.
Also, Hulk was the shit.

Perfect? Of course not! The best superhero movie ever? Hard to say, but it's in the running. Most of the cast was great. Robert Downey Jr. was terrific, as usual. I was a bit surprised by Chris Evans' surprisingly effective turn as Cap, even after seeing his good work in the Captain America movie. Mark Ruffalo really shined through, seeming the most "real" of the leads. Even Jeremy Renner, and especially Scarlett Johansson, made more of an impact than I was expecting. I don't think Chris Hemsworth was given much to work with, but he did fine with what he had. And Tom Hiddleston's Loki was as loathsome as ever, thanks to his fine acting. I was somewhat disappointed by Sam Jackson - his portrayal of Nick Fury seemed surprisingly flat to me in the other pre-Avengers movies, and unfortunately there was more of the same here (except for a few moments, e.g. when he was going at it with the council members). One odd thought that occurred to me as I was watching the final climatic battle with the aliens - every time Black Widow fired her glocks I kept thinking of the scene in Eddie Murphy's "Harlem Nights" when one of Arsenio Hall's henchmen would fire his little pistol right after all of the other thugs unleashed a barrage of machinegun fire. I was laughing out loud and the folks around me looked at me like I was insane! What a great time at the movies!

I caught it at midnight in 3D on the IMAX. I was blown away! It was so freaking awesome. In my opinion, the best Marvel movie (if not the best superhero movie besides 'The Dark Knight') to date. I was in a packed theater with fellow nerds, laughing, cheering, WTFing, being wowed by our good friend Whedon. *spoilers* And when Thanos shows his face on screen at the end, the whole theater went crazy. I'm going to see it again, tomorrow!

Paradise island will have modern technology. They still live as traditional amazons but they have tech hidden away in the pillars. This will help explain were the invisible jet came from and why/how Wonder Woman can deflect bullets. She's still ignorant of "man's world" but she knows how to fly a stealth fighter.

Actually It was called Avengers Assemble as I saw it in the UK but nobody actually calls it that cos it's a terrible title. I took my lovely lady and just to set some background, we both like Iron Man (she seems to have a thing for a man in a metal suit, go figure), she enjoyed Thor and hated Captain America while I was the complete opposite; Thor bored me shitless and I found Captain America entertaining until the 3rd act and then lost interest. But we both loved Avengers. I have to say it's not the absolutely perfect film people are claiming it to be - I found it strange that it took so long to gather and set up all the characters despite the fact there's been 10 hours plus of previous films to do this already. So yeah, it took a while to get going and the heli-aircraft carrier bit went on for ages...but the second half was well worth the admission price. I decided to save a few pennies and watch it in 2D, still looked great but I noticed the nightime scenes were a bit on the dark side...anyone else have this problem in 2D screenings? I'll definitely get this on Blu Ray (when they drop the price) and look forward to future Avengers-related shenanigans. P.S. I got a bit excited when Harry Dean Stanton said the word 'Alien'...I'm easily pleased.

It's like they don't care about continuity!
Seriously, why the fuck did they do that?
Surely it wasn't Whedon's decision?
Five previous films in the Marvel movie universe in 2.35:1 and then they go to a smaller scope for what should be a bigger movie!

When the young kids are old and there children take them to see THEIR comic book movie, this is one of the movies that we will hold and say it BETTER be as good as the Avengers
The Avengers has become in my eyes a standard bearer now of this type of movie genera.

2.35:1 was always the worse choice.
16:9 Format ist way much better to bring an epic flick to the screen. More height, more brilliance on bluray for your home.
Just look at TDK and the IMAX scenes. Anymore questions?

how the fuck is 1.78:1 bigger?
It's less field of view. It's a smaller movie visually. It's visually antithetical to the whole Avengers arc.
So what if it fills your crappy TV.
You are making a claim that the black letterbox bars would be distracting or make it a lesser film. The only time the bars are distracting is when a movie is shit and the viewer is looking at anything else to take their mind off of it.
You sir, have a lack of scope and scale.

To anyone who says.
1. It is too long.
2. Too tv
3. Not going to stand the test of time
And to whichever brain dead moron said battleship would knock this out of the #1 spot, I say please hold your breath, you are taking up way too much valuable oxygen.
Saw this with my kid. Even though the Loki vs hulk action was spoiled, it in no way took from our enjoyment. The theater went nuts at that throw down. We loved it all. Every last scene. Perfection.

The theater was totally full at the 10am showing of Avengers and there was a long line waiting for the next showing. It was mainly adults too. I go to 10am showings to get away from other human beings and can't remember last movie that was full at a 10am showing.
It was a really good movie and if there is a God out there justice will be served and this will make waaaaaaaay more money than the crappy Transformer movies.
The Hulk was awesome. The kids near me were laughing hysterically whenever The Hulk did anything on the screen.

Does anyone remember the exact phrasing the Chitauri says to Thanos before "would be to court death"? For obvious reasons, that was a super geek moment. But I wanted to quote that line correctly with other fans.

****spoilers****When I first heard that Kevin Feige was going to do the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Joss Whedon interview where he mentions that Marvel insisted that the Pegasus project be an easter egg in the film, and that Thanos appeared in the end creidts I thought that maybe they were planning on doing the newer Thanos Imperative storyline (which I just started reading ), but the mention of courting Death immeadiately brought to mind the Infinity Gauntlet which I would be mindblowing to see done on film.

Negative reviews mostly from negative people and quite obviously in the minority on this one. Yes, you can have your say, but it won't sway me from seeing it again this weekend and have a fucking ball doing so.
The third thumb is for Gweneth rocking the shorts and Scarjo's leather bound ace.
HOT!!!

1. It is too long.
- valid criticism, it does drag a bit the first 1/2
2. Too tv
- somewhat valid criticism, although on the plus side television often has better writing than movies. This is a big step up for Josh, it's not too television-y. Some scenes are more than others.
3. Not going to stand the test of time
- this is garbage, of course. It's an instant classic.

A movie lovers treat and a comic book lovers treasure. Exceeds expectations by leaps and (hulk sized) bounds. Full of intense action, subtle character moments and a great sense of the funny. Ruffalo shines as both Banner and Hulk. Downey blends into the ensemble but stands out whenever he opens his mouth. Tom Hiddleston is a class A villian you love to hate. Brimming full of malice and mischief. All of the ensemble have a chance to shine but the full throated roar of the final battle shows what teamwork is all about.

"Humans. They were not the cowering wretches that we were promised. They stand. They are unruly, and so cannot be ruled. To challenge them would be to court death."
It was something along those lines, and it was awesome. Seeing Thanos and the way he lit up at the mention of Death made the geek in me go nuts.
I'm not eloquent enough a writer to articulate just how much I dug the hell out of this flick, so I won't try. I'll just say that I did in fact dig the hell out of this flick, and I'll be going back to the theater to see it again as soon as possible. I'm eager to see what's next for the Avengers.

That movie almost made my mind explode from all the AWESOME! That movie was freaking amazing! I loved it absolutely loved it! And the possibility of another OMG! Makes my brain freak with excitement.
The best part Hulk & Loki's face off! I LOVED IT!

The best of the Marvel films, and that's saying a lot! (because I liked the others a lot, especially Iron Man) And that post credits bit: fucking Thanos! I almost cried! The Avengers 2: The Infinity Gauntlet! Then, The Avengers 3: The Kree/Skrull War! (Okay, "Chitauri", not Skrull!)

Can an individual Iron Man or Cap movie muster the same impact of an Avengers epic effort? Good luck to not only Marvel but DC also. Game got stepped up bigtime. Maybe hurry & tap the Ruffalo Hulk exellentness!

To see that many strong actors playing in the same crazy sandbox was a treat. Honestly I thought everyone in the cast brought their best. Was pleasantly surprised with Black Widow's role. I thought Scarlet was great, and way more fleshed out than IM2. Ruffalo was terrific and using him as the template for CGI Hulk was fantastic and fun. He's just a relentless destruction machine. Downey somehow keeps finding new angles to Stark, and I think Hiddleston had an extremely tough role as the sole big baddy that he rose to. To see Loki turn the corner from mischievous to ruthless was incredible. Honestly I could pretty much praise it all day. Totally fun, amazing visually, terrific humor. A perfect comic book movie.